Methods and apparatus for automatically adding a media component to an established multimedia collaboration session

Abstract

A multimedia collaboration system that facilitates more efficient, free-flowing collaboration sessions. In order to make addition of new participants, media components, and or network access device to a collaboration session more efficient, client devices associated with each participant can store endpoint address information that can be automatically obtained by the multimedia collaboration system. The endpoint address information can then be used to add the new participants, media components, and or network access device.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A multimedia collaboration system, comprising:
 a plurality of client devices in a computer-implemented network, each client device associated with a participant, of a plurality of participants, and having a corresponding endpoint address; and 
 a server configured to:
 attempt to connect to at least one client device, of a plurality of client devices, based on a priority of an endpoint address of the at least one client device; and 
 obtain information associated with the endpoint address of the at least one client device simultaneous with the attempt to connect to the at least one client device and the corresponding endpoint address; 
 wherein a live document presented during a multimedia collaboration session is dynamically formed from a listing of presented materials for at least one of the plurality of participants. 
 
 
     
     
       2. The multimedia collaboration system of  claim 1 , wherein the multimedia collaboration session comprises a plurality of media components, and wherein the endpoint address information is used to add a new media component to the multimedia collaboration session. 
     
     
       3. The multimedia collaboration system of  claim 2 , wherein the new media component is an audio conferencing component. 
     
     
       4. The multimedia collaboration system of  claim 3 , wherein the addition of the audio conferencing component includes the addition of telephonic conferencing via a telephonic network. 
     
     
       5. The multimedia collaboration system of  claim 4 , wherein the multimedia collaboration session occurs over one network and the added media component is associated with a second network. 
     
     
       6. The multimedia collaboration system of  claim 5 , wherein the two networks use separate access devices. 
     
     
       7. The multimedia collaboration system of  claim 5 , wherein the two networks use different addressing schemes. 
     
     
       8. The multimedia collaboration system of  claim 4 , wherein the multimedia collaboration session occurs over a network that is separate from the telephonic network. 
     
     
       9. The multimedia collaboration system of  claim 2 , wherein the multimedia collaboration system further facilitates the addition of a new media component to the collaboration session by automatically storing the endpoint address information for each of the plurality of participants as each participant joins the multimedia collaboration session. 
     
     
       10. The multimedia collaboration system of  claim 2 , wherein the multimedia collaboration system further facilitates the addition of a new media component to the multimedia collaboration session upon receipt of a query from a new participant. 
     
     
       11. The multimedia collaboration system of  claim 2 , wherein the multimedia collaboration system facilitates the addition of a new media component to the multimedia collaboration session upon receipt of a query from an existing participant. 
     
     
       12. The multimedia collaboration system of  claim 1 , wherein the endpoint address information comprises one or more of a telephone number, a list of addresses for the associated participant, and multiple phone numbers for the associated participant. 
     
     
       13. The multimedia collaboration system of  claim 12 , wherein the list of addresses corresponding to multiple client devices. 
     
     
       14. The multimedia collaboration system of  claim 13 , wherein the multimedia collaboration system further automatically attempts to connect via each of addresses in the list of addresses until it achieves a successful connection. 
     
     
       15. The multimedia collaboration system of  claim 1 , wherein the endpoint address information for each participant comprises endpoint address information for a plurality of endpoints. 
     
     
       16. The multimedia collaboration system of  claim 15 , wherein priority can be assigned to the plurality of endpoints for each participant. 
     
     
       17. The multimedia collaboration system of  claim 15 , wherein a hierarchy can be assigned to the plurality of endpoints for each participant. 
     
     
       18. The multimedia collaboration system of  claim 1 , wherein the endpoint address is any endpoint that can communicate including a website, a session initiation protocol telephone, a telephone, a cellular telephone, a personal digital assistant, and any other type of media component that can communicate. 
     
     
       19. A method, comprising:
 attempting to connect to at least one client device, of a plurality of client devices, based on a priority of an endpoint address of the at least one client device; and 
 obtaining information associated with the endpoint address of the at least one client device simultaneous with the attempt to connect to the at least one client device and the corresponding endpoint address; 
 wherein a live document presented during a multimedia collaboration session is dynamically formed from a listing of presented materials for at least one of the plurality of participants. 
 
     
     
       20. A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising instructions that, when read by a processor, cause the processor to:
 attempt to connect to at least one client device, of a plurality of client devices, based on a priority of an endpoint address of the at least one client device; and 
 obtain information associated with the endpoint address of the at least one client device simultaneous with the attempt to connect to the at least one client device and the corresponding endpoint address; 
 wherein a live document presented during a multimedia collaboration session is dynamically formed from a listing of presented materials for at least one of the plurality of participants.